


Good Love is on the Way

by liamsfreckles



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Ficlet, Kidfic, M/M, Singer!Zayn, Zayn's Birthday, it's just fluff, like teeth rotting fluff, singledad!liam, sorta?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-06
Updated: 2016-09-06
Packaged: 2018-08-13 08:43:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,157
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7970152
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/liamsfreckles/pseuds/liamsfreckles
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Chewing on his lip, he opened up twitter and uploaded the photo of the letter:</p><p>
  <b>@zaynmalik - help me find the lovely person who sent me this siiick birthday note! Thank you for the birthday love! xo</b>
</p><p>Within seconds of pressing tweet, the message had hundreds of RT’s and he giggled to himself. He was still so surprised people followed him - anywhere. He’d been a huge recording artist for years, but still felt very surprised with how many people supported and loved him.</p><p>Rhino stirred next to him, stretching his body out before resting his large head against Zayn’s knee. He leaned down to kiss the top of the dogs head, wrapping his arms around the not-so-little pup. ‘Think we’ll find our Cinderellie?’ He murmured into Rhino’s neck, before untangling himself. ‘C’mon pup, let’s get you walked…’</p>
            </blockquote>





	Good Love is on the Way

**Author's Note:**

> Title comes from John Mayer's _Good Love is on the Way_

Zayn sat crossed legged in the middle of his living room, a pile of fan mail settled in front of him, Rhino pressed up against his left thigh. He’d put Miguel on, the sultry sounds filtering through the house, and quietly he sang along.

Birthdays. He kind of loved them.

Not just his, though. He enjoyed his birthday, but he also loved celebrating others birthdays as well. Liked buying his family fun gifts and treating them to all their hearts desires: things that they couldn’t always have done when they were kids.

But today was his birthday, and he was spending some quiet time on his own before his family came over for dinner. He was going through all the birthday cards and notes sent to him from fans, and sharing some of his favourites.

He picked up an envelope that was covered in crayon drawings and sparkly heart stickers, and he pressed his tongue to his teeth as he gently tore it open, as he wanted to keep the drawings intact. He pulled out the folded sheet of paper, and flipped it open to read:

‘ _Dear Zayn -_

_Happy birthday. I am so excited that it is your birthday today. I hope you have an awesome birthday._

_Love Ellie xoxo’_

He smiled to himself, setting the little letter down on the floor, so he could take a picture of it. He uploaded it to Instagram with a little note of his own:

_‘@Zayn - Thanks, Ellie! I am having a smashing birthday thanks to you! :) :) :)’_

He picked up the note again. It was so genuine and sweet that Zayn wanted to do something for Ellie. Chewing on his lip, he opened up twitter and uploaded the photo of the letter:

**@zaynmalik - help me find the lovely person who sent me this siiick birthday note! Thank you for the birthday love! xo**

Within seconds of pressing tweet, the message had hundreds of RT’s and he giggled to himself. He was still so surprised people followed him - anywhere. He’d been a huge recording artist for years, but still felt very surprised with how many people supported and loved him.

Rhino stirred next to him, stretching his body out before resting his large head against Zayn’s knee. He leaned down to kiss the top of the dogs head, wrapping his arms around the not-so-little pup. ‘Think we’ll find our Cinderellie?’ He murmured into Rhino’s neck, before untangling himself. ‘C’mon pup, let’s get you walked…’

–

Liam hadn’t been so sure about letting his daughter sending Zayn Malik a birthday note. He didn’t want to be the one to have to tell her that he may not reply back to her. How could Liam handle that type of disappointment when his girl - didn’t get a response from her favourite singer in the world?

But he let her do it. Let her write it all by herself, and then they walked the two blocks from their little house to the post box, where he had lifted her onto his hip so she could push the letter into the box, clapping happily when it disappeared.

That had been two weeks ago, and now it was the day of Zayn’s birthday. Ellie was dressed up in her favourite outfit: a pair of bright blue leggings, and a grey sweatshirt with three minions dancing on the front. She even had Doc Martens on, much to Liam’s amusement. An homage to her  _favourite_. 

He was wondering if he should be jealous of the fact that he - her own father - was no longer her favourite. 5 years old and he was being tossed out like trash.

“Daddy! D’you think he got my letter?” Ellie asked for what seemed like the thousandth time today as she danced around his legs while he finished making up lunch.

He smiled a little. “Maybe, Els. And if he did, I bet you he loved it!” He said to her, holding out the plate for her to take. “Two hands, ok?”

She held the plate carefully with both hands, walking slowly out of the kitchen to the living room. He’d promised her they could watch Zayn’s latest tour DVD while they ate. He’d even bought her a cake.  _A_  m _inion cake_. For later.

He was about to pick up his own plate when his phone buzzed on the counter. He picked it up to see a message from his best mate, Niall:

_Check Zayn Malik’s tweets. I think Ellie’s a bit famous right now._

Liam blinked, leaning back a little to check that Ellie had made it to the couch before he opened up his twitter. He was rarely on it - but sometimes shared updates of him and Ellie and their endless adventures, and a few odd selfies here and there.

He searched for Zayn’s twitter handle and pulled up his account. He scolled through a few tweets before sucking in a breath at what he saw.

Ellie’s letter. Right there. With a note asking to help Zayn find the writer of said note.

He picked up his plate and padded into the living room, where Ellie was settled on the couch, her feet kicking up and down while she ate part of her sandwich.

He sat down next to her, putting his plate beside hers on the coffee table, and gave her a little grin. “I have a surprise for you.” He said, reaching over to thumb away a smear of raspberry jam on her cheek.

He held the phone out between the two of them, and she squinted a little, before her eyes went wide, and colour flooded her cheeks.

“Daddy…that’s my letter.” She whispered, big brown eyes blinking from the screen up to him.

“That it is, babe. He got it. He was looking for you to say thank you.” He whispered back. “Should we send him something back?”

“YES!!” She squealed, making him laugh, eyes crinkling at the corners. “Can we send him a picture? So he can see my minion shirt?”

Liam nodded and took the half-eaten sandwich from her little fingers and set it back on her plate. She climbed up into his lap and rested her back to his chest, while Liam opened up the camera on his phone. He rested his stubbled cheek against Ellie’s soft one, and she pressed fingertips to his other cheek, and he could feel her smile.

He took a few pictures. (’ _You have to make us look good, daddy’)_ before choosing one that had both of them in the frame, all crinkly eyed smiles, and Ellie’s sweatshirt.

He found the tweet he wanted to link to, and he attached the photo:

@real_liam_payne:  _Ellie is well chuffed you got her letter, @zaynmalik! Happy birthday, mate! Love from the Paynes x_

He let Ellie press the tweet button and he pressed warm kisses to her cheek, making her giggle. “Okay you minion-head- lets pop in the DVD and finish up lunch, yeah?”

–

Liam really needed to learn how to turn off notifications.

He’d put his phone on silent after sending out the tweet to Zayn so that he and Ellie could watch the movie. It was so amusing to him that his little girl was so enamoured with him: knew his songs, danced around the living room with little bursts of giggles escaping her bubblegum pink lips.

“Daddy come dance with me!” She demanded, hands on hips. She looked so much like him in that moment, with her brows furrowing, and a little pout.

He heaved himself off the couch and rounded the coffee table, to scoop Ellie up into his arms, twirling her around as she wrapped her arms around his neck. He danced with her, singing along with the movie (hey – when you’ve seen it twenty times, you learn some songs), as she played little fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck.

Liam enjoyed these moments. Being a single father was hard – but he wanted Ellie to have all the happiness in the world, and would do anything to see her smile. To have her know love and hope and success. If she wanted him to dress up like Elsa so she could be Olaf on Halloween? You best bet he’d do it.

He carried her back to the couch when the movie cut to a scene of Zayn talking about his home and family, settling back down with a warm hand against Ellie’s back. He knew she’d conk out fairly soon: it was reaching 2 PM and close to her naptime.

He picked up his phone to check for messages – and…

**10k twitter notifications**

He pursed his lips and opened up his phone, checking to see what all those notifications were about, eyes nearly bulging out of his head at all the messages and responses from people he did not know about his tweet to Zayn. There was even a  _hashtag_  - #ZaynMeetEllie

He tucked Ellie into his side as she curled up against him, transfixed on the telly, and he began to read through some of the tweets. As he was about to close out, a new notification popped up – indicating a DM.

Curiously, he opened it.

It was from Zayn.

_@zaynmalik: I hope this is the right person, because I’ll feel really stupid if not – but Ellie made my day!_

Liam bit the inside of his cheek, his heart doing an awkward thump in his chest. He pulled up a photo of Ellie writing her letter – something he’d taken sneakily – and added it to his response.

_@real_liam_payne: it is! She was really excited to send you a birthday note. Had 2 talk her out of sending a cake, though. We’re glad you got it!_

He looked up from his phone, to his little girl. She had fingers curled into her hair, eyes drooping slightly as she watched her hero on telly. When he looked back at his phone, another message appeared.

_@zaynmalik: Glad I found the right person! Looked thru your feed (hope that’s not weird) – you guys aren’t far from me: was wondering if I could thank her in person?_

_@zaynmalik: it’s not something I normally do, but she really did make my birthday a whole lot better._

Liam almost made a noise. Zayn Malik wanted to come here. To his home. To say thank you to his five year old for the birthday message. Was he being pranked? Was this some sort of stunt? He squinted at his screen as he tried to put together a response.

_@real_liam_payne: you’d probably make me father of the millennia if you did. But only if you want to – I don’t want to tell her and then have nothing happen, you know?_

_@real_liam_payne: that probably came out harsher than I meant it. Just very protective of Ellie. Promises mean a lot._

He set his phone to vibrate and set it down beside him, curling an arm around Ellie. “Sleepy, baby girl?” he asked, rubbing his thumb against her arm.

“Only a little, daddy…” She sighed, voice a little slurred. He grinned.

His phone vibrated and he picked it up with his free hand, thumbing in his password.

_@zaynmalik: totally get that. I don’t make promises I don’t intend to keep, if that helps. And anything to help you win father of the millennia. ;)_

_@zaynmalik: here’s my number- if you decide you’re ok with all of this, text me your address and I’ll be there. It’ll just be me._

Christ. Was Zayn flirting with him? It wasn’t that he didn’t find the singer incredibly attractive- he was just finding the whole exchange surreal. He wondered briefly if he’d fallen asleep at some point.

He copied the number into a new text message window and wrote out a response, hoping that he was doing the right thing. He tossed the phone back down and shifted on the couch so that he and Ellie were lengthwise, with her settled against his chest, his arms around her small frame.

“Sleep, baby – we can cut up the cake later…”

–

Zayn glanced down at the text message from the unknown number:

_‘Here’s our address. She’d probably be chuffed if you stayed for cake, too. – Liam’_

Underneath the message was Liam’s address, and he grinned a little. He wasn’t exactly sure what he was doing: as he’d never had the impulse to do what he was about to do.

When the responses started flooding in, it was mostly adult women claiming to be Ellie – until someone had started tweeting about Liam. He went to Liam’s account and scrolled through the tweets: mostly about him and his daughter, and his daughters love for music – especially Zayn’s.

From what he learned on Liam’s twitter – he was a single father who was absolutely in love with his little girl, and would probably do anything to keep her that way.

So, he went with it.

He put on a black hoodie and slipped on his boots, before grabbing his car keys off a hook near the door.

It didn’t take him long to find the house – he was surprised to learn that he and Liam lived in the same small village just outside of London. He parked his car and pulled his phone out to check to see he had the address right, before tugging the hood of his sweatshirt to cover his head.

The house was of modest size, with a snow-covered front yard that housed a little family of snowmen. Christmas lights were still strung around the bushes near the front of the house, and he bit back a grin. It reminded him of his family and tugged on his heartstrings.

He knocked on the door and stuffed his hands into the pockets of his hoodie. He kind of regretted not bringing a jacket…

It wasn’t long before he could hear a soft voice from the other side. “Just stay there Els, I’ll be right back.”

The door opened, and Zayn’s breath caught for a moment, taken back by the man in front of him.

“Holy shite. You did. You came.” Liam breathed, eyes widening slightly.

Zayn’s cheeks went red, and not from the cold. “Promised, didn’t I?” He laughed softly, extending his hand. “Liam, yeah?”

Liam’s responding smile was blinding as he reached out and took Zayn’s hand, shaking it firmly. “Yeah, yeah – s’me. Come on in.” He said, stepping aside. “Shite. Excuse the mess. She’s a bit of a tornado, and I’m no better.”

Zayn let go of Liam’s hand and crossed the threshold and into the house, where Liam shut the door behind him. He pulled down the hood of his sweatshirt and rubbed a nervous hand over the back of his head. “All good, mate. Does she know I was coming?” He asked lowly.

“Nah – figured it would make for a pleasant surprise.” Liam replied, shifting his gaze to the living room. “And I wasn’t sure…if you’d make it. Not every day an international popstar asks to come visit my slightly obsessed five year old.”

Zayn laughed at that as he toed off his boots. Liam was…well, he wasn’t going to lie to himself: when he’d first seen the photos of him and Ellie, his eyes were drawn to Liam. He was handsome and his daughter was equally as beautiful. He suddenly felt like he was back in school again with a little crush…

“Come on, she’s this way.” Liam continued, padding down the hallway, leaving Zayn to follow.

Zayn stopped just before the living room as Liam leaned over the back of the couch. “Hey, Els. There is a very special someone that is here to see you.” He heard Liam say.

“Who is it, daddy?” Ellie asked, her voice shooting up at the end.

“Why don’t you come and see?”

He heard the shuffling of Ellie climbing off the couch, and Zayn moved into the doorway to the living room just as she reached Liam.

“Ellie, this is Zayn.” Liam said, and Zayn could hear the emotion in his voice. “Zayn – this is your biggest fan: Ellie Payne.”

Zayn watched as Ellie’s eyes – so much like her fathers – went wide with surprise, her little hands coming up to cover her mouth. He crouched down where he stood, raising his hand to wave at her.

“Hey there, Cinderellie.” He said quietly, not wanting to freak the little girl out. “Wanted to come say thank you for your letter.”

There was a beat, where no one moved – Liam’s hand was gentle against the back of Ellie’s head, and she simply stared at him, eyes wide, and her cheeks pinking. He’d never been in such a position before, where all he wanted to do was cross the distance between them and scoop her up in a hug.

Finally, her hands dropped from her lips. “Did you like it?” She whispered, eyes not leaving his.

Zayn nodded emphatically. “I  _loved_ it, babe.”

She took off towards him, then – and threw herself into Zayn’s arms.

He caught her easily, scooping her up into an embrace. He hugged her tightly as she pressed her face into his neck, and he glanced over Ellie’s head towards Liam, who was hiding a smile behind his hand.

“Thank you!” She said fiercely, her words muffled by his sweatshirt. “Thank you thank you thank you!”

He laughed and squeezed her tightly. “Thank YOU, Ellie. This has been the best birthday ever.” He replied, as she pulled back to look at him. “I put your letter up on my fridge. So I can see it every day.”

Her eyes widened at that. He knew he was making HER day, and that made him feel good.

Liam cleared his throat, and the two of them looked over at him.

“I wasn’t kidding about the cake – and I am sure you have other priorities – so if you want to have a slice…its minion shaped. She loves minions. A lot.” Liam said, and Zayn squeezed Ellie once more before setting her down on the ground.

“I’d love to.” He replied as Ellie took his hand. An inexplicable warmth spread through him as she looked up at him, as if he was the most important thing in the world. It unsettled him and made him feel incredibly happy all in the same breath.

“Daddy, Zayn likes minions  _too_.” She huffed, tugging on Zayn’s hand, pulling him towards the kitchen.

Zayn ended up staying for over an hour, letting Ellie pull him around the house, showing him her bedroom and all her toys, including an impressive minion collection. He made a mental note to send her a few things she didn’t have, knowing that she’d love it.

The three of them sat in the kitchen, with Liam and Ellie singing him ‘Happy Birthday’ while Liam set the cake down in front of him, with one candle stuck right in the middle. He grinned at the two of them as the finished off with a flourish, and he leaned in to blow the candle out.

Ellie clapped and giggled, settling into her seat as Liam cut up big heaping pieces for each of them.

Zayn and Liam chatted about small things – like where they grew up, what Liam did now, and what they’d done for the holidays. Liam was working as a producer for an independent music label started up by one of his best friends – and all of his free time was dedicated to Ellie.

The more they chatted, the more Zayn wanted to learn.

He was surprised to know that they were quite close in age, and that in another time, Liam had auditioned for x-factor – only to have been taken out of competition just before the live shows.

Zayn talked about his family, and what it was like to be home for the holidays and not having to country hop for a few months. He’d decided to take some time off to rest and write new music – and not feel pressured to put out anything he wasn’t one hundred percent behind. He talked to Ellie about her favourite songs and movies, and he listened intently as she listed them all off to him.

Liam got up to clear the plates to put them in the sink, just as Ellie exclaimed: “My daddy thinks you’re cute!”

Zayn heard Liam gasp, and he had to cover his mouth to fight off the burst of laughter.

“Ellie Alexandra Payne, you have got a big mouth.” Liam groaned, covering his eyes playfully.

–

They stood in the hallway, Zayn getting ready to get himself back home. He knew his family and friends would be coming over in a few hours, and he had yet to do anything to be prepared. Part of him didn’t want to leave this moment: he wanted to invite them both and see what happened. But as it was: he wasn’t sure he could explain to people what this was yet. Wanted to keep it for himself for now.

He gave Ellie more hugs and even signed her sweatshirt for her, with promises of becoming ‘pen pals’, so they could keep in touch. She kissed his cheek and squeezed him tightly, before running off upstairs, leaving him and Liam alone.

“So…” Liam began, a quirked grin on his ruddy lips. “Thank you, you know – for all of this. You certainly made her day.” He said, tilting his head in the direction of his daughter.

“It was fun” Zayn replied, tucking his hands into the pockets of his hoodie. “Thank you for letting me in. I had…it was good, yeah. Best birthday in a while.”

Liam snorted at that. “She had the whole day planned out, you know. We’ve declared it a national holiday in this house.”

Zayn tilted his head back and laughed. “Next year maybe I should have her plan the whole thing.”

“Minion themed.” Liam grinned, running a hand over his stubbled jaw. “Lots of balloons.”

“Everyone would have to dress up as minions. No exceptions.” Zayn said, eyes bright. “With the movies on loop.”

“That’s….a special kind of hell, Zayn.” Liam groaned, nudging him with his free hand. “Absolute torture.”

“Spoken like a true father.” Zayn giggled then, and shifted towards the door, his hand curling around the handle.

“Seriously though: thank you. This meant a lot to her, and in turn – meant a lot to me.” Liam said, reaching over to squeeze Zayn’s shoulder. “Thank you.”

Zayn bit his lower lip for a moment, before smiling. “I enjoyed it. And I, uhm…I mean, if it’s alright with you, wouldn’t mind at all continuing our chat about music. I mean, I’m home for a few months and it’d be nice to have a fresh perspective. Maybe go for lunch one day: bring Ellie…”

He knew he was babbling, and knew he was probably overstepping some sort of boundary. He’d only known Liam for an  _hour_  for goodness sake…

But Liam smiled, his eyes crinkling around the edges, and stepped a little closer to him.

“I’d like that a lot.” He said, warmth in his voice. “So would Ellie, I bet.”

Zayn let go of the breath he didn’t know he was holding.

“I would too, yeah.” Zayn said, glancing down to his boots. “I’ll give you a call – maybe later this week?”

Liam nodded, and without warning, pulled Zayn in for a hug. He smelled of citrus body wash and warm musk, and he had to try and not inhale deeply as he returned the hug, squeezing the slightly larger man tightly. He noted that Liam hugged with the same intensity that Ellie did, and he smiled into the shoulder of Liam’s Henley.

“Happy birthday, Zayn.” Liam mumbled as they pulled away, eyes bright. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

“Thanks, Leeyum.” He replied, turning the handle to open the door. “We’ll…talk soon, yeah?”

Liam nodded, placing his hand on the door as Zayn stepped out into the cold January evening. “I’ll be around.”

Zayn smiled again, walking backwards down the pathway until he almost tripped on a crack in the pavement, making Liam laugh out loud. He blushed furiously before waving, and turning to briskly walk to his car.

Once he was in his car, he took a few cleansing breaths and pushed the key into the ignition, letting the engine warm up. He pulled out his phone and opened up his photos, scrolling through a few that he’d taken, until he came across one he’d asked Liam to take.

It was of him and Ellie, making ridiculous faces while she was squished up against him. It was a moment of pure happiness and it made his chest expand with warmth. He pulled up twitter and attached the photo to a new tweet, adding the caption:

_@zaynmalik: sick time making new friends. Much love to Ellie and @real_liam_payne for making this the best bday ever!_

He smiled to himself, pressing the tweet button.


End file.
